Introduction
Volume 38 of Vichāra Sāgara continues the text from the later chapters (likely part of Chapter 7 or beyond) dealing with the advanced living of non-dual Realisation. According to the index of the series, this volume addresses subtleties such as how the realised one engages in the world, the nature of activity (vyavahāra) for the jñānī, remaining attachments, final dissolution of ignorance, and full integration of the Self-understanding. Thus this volume is meant for the seeker who has traversed much of the enquiry into Self, world, means, identity, and now requires consolidation — how Realisation is stabilised, how life in Realisation is lived, and how the final obstacles to steady abiding are addressed. Click Here To Access more other text.
Benefits of Studying This Volume
Studying Volume 38 offers these key benefits:
- It provides clarity on the mature phase of Realisation — how one functions in the world after full insight, how action is transformed.
- It helps dissolve subtle remaining identification or reversion even after major shifts—this can be “I know I am the Self” yet still living from “I am the person”.
- It supports integration of insight into daily life: not simply freedom in meditation but freedom in action, in relationship, in all contexts.
- It strengthens the understanding that non-dual freedom is not apart from life, but realised amongst life’s activities — thereby bringing more steadiness and less fluctuation.
- It gives you tools for stability: how to abide as awareness, how to respond rather than react, how to live from the Self with ease. Click view PDF.
Sanskrit Text
(५०४) शैवाधिकरणानां फलम्, वाममार्गः—
शैवग्रन्थाः सर्वेऽपि पाशुपततन्त्रे अन्तर्भवन्ति। तथैव गणेश–सूर्य–देव्याद्युपासनाबोधकानां ग्रन्थानामपि चित्तनिश्चलतासम्पादनद्वारा ज्ञानमेव फलम्।
सर्वेषामपि एषः धर्मशास्त्रेऽनुगतः।
तत्र देवोपासनाबोधकग्रन्थेषु द्वौ सम्प्रदायौ वर्तेते।
एको दक्षिणसम्प्रदायः, इतरः उत्तरसंपद्रायः।
उत्तरसम्प्रदायं वाममार्ग इति कथ्यते।
Meaning in Simple English
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This topic explains the fruit (result) of Shaiva and similar types of worship.
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All Shaiva scriptures fall under Pāśupata–Tantra tradition.
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Similarly, scriptures related to:
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Gaṇeśa worship
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Sūrya (Sun) worship
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Devī (Goddess) worship
also aim to make the mind steady and concentrated. Click view PDF.
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Final goal of such worship is:
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Knowledge of the Divine
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All Dharma-śāstras agree that:
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Upāsanā purifies the mind and leads to spiritual knowledge
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Scriptures describing deity worship are classified into:
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Dakṣiṇa Sampradāya
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Uttara Sampradāya
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The Uttara Sampradāya is also called the Vāma–mārga (Left-hand path). Click view PDF.
Benefits (Bullet Points)
- Increases mental focus and stability
- Removes negative tendencies and impurities
- Gives spiritual knowledge as the supreme result
- Leads to spiritual growth through devotion
- Provides guidance through different traditions (Dakṣiṇa & Vāma mārga)
- Helps devotees follow the path suited to their nature Click view PDF.
How to Study
Here’s a suggested approach to studying Volume 38 effectively:
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With a guide or teacher: Because the topics are subtle and may easily be misunderstood or reduced to mere intellectualisation—having someone experienced in non-dual tradition will help clarify lived implications.
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Read sequentially: Begin from the first topic of Volume 38 and proceed topic by topic in order. The text builds its discourse gradually.
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After each section, reflect:
• “Which part of my life still feels separate from Realisation?”
• “How would I live differently if I knew I were simply awareness in this context?”
• “What subtle assumption remains about freedom, action, relationship, identity?” -
Meditative assimilation: After reading a section, sit quietly and rest as the awareness that the section points to. Notice how your sense of self shifts or remains unchanged. Click view PDF.
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Journalling: Write down:
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Moments when you sense you act as the realised one vs when you act as the person.
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Insights about relationships, work, responses after reading.
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Doubts or pull-backs that appear and how the teaching addresses them.
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Integration into life: Use your daily activities—work, conversation, rest—as fields of practice. Ask at moments: “Who is aware of this? Is the Self acting, or is the person acting?” Allow the volume’s teachings to move from book-knowledge into lived awareness. Click view PDF.
Why Study
Here are compelling reasons why you should study Volume 38:
- Because realisation is not the end of enquiry — the living of realisation is the next stage, and this volume addresses that transition.
- Because many seekers obtain insights yet struggle with embodying them in life — this volume helps stabilize the insight so you no longer swing between “seeker” and “knower”.
- Because the mature non-dual standpoint demands clarity about action, engagement, identity, world-life — without which even insight can feel incomplete.
- Because this volume helps you finish the path not merely intellectually but existentially — supporting the shift from “I know” to “I am living as”.
- Because the teaching here is integrative: knowledge, action, world, freedom — all in one stream. To miss this means missing the fullness of Realisation. Click view PDF.
How Many Times to Study
Here is a suggested pattern for how often and how deeply to engage with Volume 38:
- First pass: Read through the volume to get an overview of its scope: mature Realisation, action in life, stabilisation of Self.
- Second pass: Read more slowly, annotate key statements, pause and reflect about your life and identity in each topic.
- Third pass (and further passes): Blend reading with meditation and journalling; after each major section sit quietly, revisit your living over days, observe how the teaching lands.
- Periodic revisiting: As your lived awareness deepens, revisit Volume 38 every 6–12 months (or when you sense regression) because new layers of meaning will continue to emerge.
- Lifelong companion: Recognise this volume not as a one-time read but as a lifelong reference: whenever new life-situations or subtle challenges appear, you may return to the relevant parts for support and refreshment. Click view PDF.
Conclusion
Volume 38 of Vichāra Sāgara is a profound and essential text for the committed seeker who is beyond initial enquiry and ready for stable embodiment and integration of Realisation. When studied with sincerity, reflection, meditation and integration, it helps shift one from “I attained insight” to “I live from insight”, from seeking to steadiness, from duality to the life of non-duality. If you approach this volume with openness, discipline and honest introspection, it can support genuine transformation—turning Realisation from event into living, from ideal into presence, from path into home.
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